In August, 20 high school students from Hiroshima came to Australia to participate in a study tour conducted by the Queensland State Government at Bribie State High School. Our staff joined them for two days of their two-week study tour. In addition to the tour support, we conducted extensive background research for Hiroshima on Queensland’s system of accepting international students.
We were impressed that the Hiroshima students made efforts to speak English progressively despite their obvious nervousness; local students helped their Japanese friends by listening to their English. The Hiroshima students remarked that “I’m enjoying it here so much, I don’t want to go back to Japan” and “when I get home, I’ll do my best in studying English.” We have high hopes for their future.
We had briefings with Bribie High School’s Principal and Coordinators about their roles and capabilities required, as well as with Education Queensland International (EQI) about their policies, communication with state schools related topics. We gained great understanding about how they maintain their high level of education delivery for domestic and international students in compliance with Queensland’s legislative and regulatory framework.